Rising With The Breaking Dawn
by fleeting . white . feathers
Summary: Gen. SI. She died too early and was born too late. Her existence is a curse, a pebble in a tranquil lake. There is no turning back. There is only forward, to an uncertain tomorrow.
1. Birth

Silence. The sound of the emptiness left, of the time after the struggle when all is lost except the hope for the future. Silence, broken only by the sound of the wind, and the wails of a child.

Two bodies lay dying in the grass.

Red pooled around his feet. Sarutobi looked down at the young family, the hope and promise that had been snuffed out like a candle in a single night… just like all the other hopes crushed this sad, tragic night.

A blonde head turned to look at him. "Sarutobi-san…" he rasped. Minato's eyes, known for their brightness and cheer, were now dulled, a dark ocean set in a pale face.

"Don't speak." Immediately the old man knelt down at his successor's side. "The medics are coming. They will take c-" A bloody, shaking hand on his made him stop. Minato smiled, a sad echo of the smile that had endeared him to any who saw it.

"Shinigami… too late…" A hoarse laugh escaped his lips, making him cringe in pain. "Kyuubi… sealed it… please… take care of… them…"

Sarutobi bowed his head. _A shinobi must never show their tears._ "I will," he promised, covering the hand with his own.

"My children will be heralded as heroes." The Fourth Hokage said. A command, not a request. _His very last._ The irony did not strike the Sandaime as funny. "Especially…" He coughed, suddenly, without warning, blood spurting out of his guts and his lips. Sarutobi did not look away. He owed him at least that.

"I'll take care of them," he promised once again, unable to keep a note of sadness out of his voice.

Minato smiled, one, last, grateful smile. His gaze turned towards the wailing child by his side… and the wide eyed babe beside it.

"_Take care of your sister… Naruto…"_

* * *

They call them the Demon Twins.

When the moon closes its eye and the stars disappear from the sky, and the people hunker down in their homes, they speak of them. Wayward children are hushed with the tales of the Kyuubi, how, with its last dregs of power, cursed Konoha as it breathed its final breath. Adults spoke with fear, wondering if the Kyuubi the Yondaime had given his life to seal away… wasn't as gone as the Sandaime had assured them it was.

No one knew where the rumor came from, but someone finally confirmed a sighting. On the third anniversary of the Kyuubi's death, of the victory of the Yondaime and the deaths of many others, someone saw them – two cursed children, running through the streets, eyes wide and heads turning, as they looked upon the colorful festivities.

One was the very image of the late Yondaime, still remembered with regret and honest fondest by most of the villagers. It was like their Hokage had been reborn, with its spiky blond hair and round blue eyes. At first he inspired wonder, then awe, and not terror.

It was his companion that sent fear into the people's bones.

It was the start of a riot. People screamed, in terror or fury. Several swore vengeance, moving against the Kyuubi incarnate with bat, bottle and broom. That's when the shinobi moved in. More people cried out in fear, as the dreaded masked ANBU appeared at the monsters' side. Many would remember that night as a night of pain and horror, cradling their arms as the ghost of broken bones twinged at the memory.

The next day, the Sandaime addressed his people. He spoke of the Yondaime, and honor, and the wish of a man for a pair of orphan children to be treated as heroes. But it was too late. No one heard his words, barely took note of the law passed unto them that very same day. All eyes were on the children, standing on either side of their esteemed Hokage. Hatred fostered in every heart that set eyes on the cursed spawn of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

The blond one clung to the Hokage, staring wide eyed at the crowd before him. All felt hatred at the Kyuubi's mockery of their hero.

The Hokage spoke of a seal.

The people saw a child.

The Hokage rested a hand on the shoulder of the one on his other side. It looked up, and peered at the crowd with a gaze that froze all who stood before it.

Her hair hung around her face like a veil of blood. Her blue eyes were rimmed with ink black marking, stretching from the corners of her eyes and reaching for her temples.

It was the face of the Kyuubi reborn.

* * *

"How are they?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked.

The ANBU agent stood to attention. His porcelain mask identified him as Uma- Horse. "The children are resting in the waiting room downstairs, Hokage-sama. Inu, Tora, and Kuma are guarding them at the moment." The Hokage gave a nod of approval. Hound, Tiger and Bear were shinobi he knew well, and could trust with the children.

"Continue."

"Naruto-san has been very... impatient." Impatient was an understatement, but the shinobi didn't think he could say "The kid's practically bouncing off the walls" to his superior. "He has not ceased asking questions since he entered the room. His sister has answered a few, but mostly stares out the window. She has shown no outward emotions since the announcement was made."

"Thank you, Uma. Please have Inu bring them here." Horse bowed - a sign of trust, baring his neck to his superior - and shunshinned away.

The Hokage sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He hadn't intended to announce the existence of the Kyuubi in a jinchuuriki so early. His original plan was to keep the children a secret, until the Kyuubi was more of a memory than fresh history.

He doubted most of the civilians he had addressed earlier had understood – or even listened – to his explanation of the sealing. The wounds from three years ago were still fresh… and the twins' existence the salt that returned the pain anew.

A flare of chakra alerted him to approaching ninja. Wind whipped through the room as first Hound, then Tiger arrived, carrying a child each. Bear did not appear, though Sarutobi sensed him take position on the roof of the building.

"Oh _yeah_! That was _so cool, _dattebayo! Again, again, again, again!" Naruto yelled in glee from Hound's shoulders, tugging on the poor man's wild hair like reins. Sarutobi hid a smile behind one hand. It seems that, while Hound was adamant about avoiding his teacher's children as much as he could, he still could not resist Naruto's enthusiasm and boyish charm.

Compared to her brother, Minako looked quite pale as Tiger slowly set her down. "Thank you." Her voice was soft and a little shaky, but clear. Tiger gave a slight nod of acknowledgement, the closest and ANBU could give as a "you're welcome".

Sarutobi studied the girl over his folded hands. Her pale state only served to emphasize the dark markings around her eyes, miniature versions of the black lines that extended from the Kyuubi's snout into its ears. Combined with the flaming red hair she had inherited from her mother, it was no wonder the crowd had panicked at the sight of the child.

"Naruto," he finally spoke. "Please stop pulling Inu-san's hair. I don't think he appreciates it very much."

"But! It's so spiky, dattebayo! It's weird! It gets up even when I squish it!" The boy demonstrated, patting Hound's hair. True to form, it sprung back into position the moment his fingers left the strands. Once again, Sarutobi had to hide a smile behind a hand at Hound's obvious discomfort. Certainly Tiger and Bear were having the struggle of their lives hiding their amusement at their comrade's predicament.

"Naruto, that's enough." Minako said evenly, craning her neck to look up at her brother. He pouted, but obeyed. Hound reached up and grabbed him by the torso, finally setting him down beside his sister. Without hesitating, she grabbed Naruto by his own spiky hair and pulled, hard enough to bring tears to his eyes.

"Owowowow! Min'ko-chan, that huuurts-ttebayo!" the child wailed, grabbing his sister's arm and hopping in an effort to alleviate the pain.

She twitched. "First of all, it's _Minako. _Second, this is what you've been doing to Inu-san all morning. Now go and apologize."

Naruto pouted. Minako glared back. It was, quite frankly, _adorable_. Sarutobi could no longer hide his smile as Naruto apologized sullenly to Hound, who could only nod in reply.

Minako had always shown a surprising level of maturity for a three year old. Where Naruto was loud, she was quiet. Where Naruto was rude, she was polite and diplomatic. Where Naruto was wild, she was restrai-

"_I'm not a killjoy, dattebana!" _said girl shrieked, stamping her foot loudly on the wooden floor of the office. She blushed immediately at her loss of control and glared at her brother. He stuck out his tongue in reply.

The Hokage winced. Or maybe he was thinking too much.

"That's enough fighting you two." He scolded. The children jumped to attention, two pairs of bright blue eyes trained right at him as they each muttered their own apologies. He gave the ANBU a nod. They bowed, and disappeared in a 'poof' of chakra smoke.

He scrutinized the children as Naruto gave his customary yells of awe while his sister covered her face in exasperation. The medics had said they hadn't gotten even a scratch in their ordeal, but… "Are you two alright?" he asked. Twin sets of blue returned to him once more. With more age and knowledge behind them, those two would make an intimidating stare.

"We're okay, thank you…" Minako replied slowly. Her eyes were clear of any visible emotion, but sharp with intelligence. Her exotic facial markings only served to emphasize her eyes, turning her blank gaze into something more… intent.

"Are you sure?" Such ordeals left more than physical wounds. The twins nodded in unison, though Naruto's was more subdued. His sunny outlook had suddenly clouded with indecision. Sarutobi focused his attention on the boy. "Is there something wrong, Naruto?"

"Ne, jiji…" Naruto blurted. Minako quickly jabbed him in the side with her elbow.

"Naruto, manners!" she hissed. "You can't just address the Hokage with a, 'Hey, Grandpa'!" Her brother's face fell.

"It's alright, Minako," Sarutobi quickly intervened. "I don't mind." _Very much. _Ah well. Tsunade would say it would keep him humble.

He was rewarded with Naruto's delighted look in his direction, before the kid shot another raspberry at his sister. She rolled her eyes.

He had a feeling he was going to regret making that statement in the future. "Anyway, you were saying, Naruto?"

"Um…" the boy mumbled, tugging on the hem of his shirt nervously. "Why… why did the people try to hit us?" he asked, with all the wide-eyed innocence of a three year old.

Sarutobi sighed. He'd been waiting for that question. "It's not something I can explain right now, Naruto. You'll understand when you're older."

"Does it have something to do with the Kyuubi?" His gaze snapped faster than lightning to the quiet sister. She stared back, face carefully blank, blue eyes cold and sharp. Now that expression was familiar. Sarutobi pushed back the nostalgia of blue eyes narrowed in determination and framed with golden hair.

"And what makes you think that, Minako?" he asked calmly, letting no sign of his surprise rise to the surface. Her hands began to fumble with each other. She bit her lip as she thought over her answer. But her eyes never strayed from their intense look at his face.

"Well… it was the anniversary of the Kyuubi attack yesterday, right? So I thought…" Here she trailed off, color rising to her cheeks once more.

Funny. Most people spoke of that day as the day of the Yondaime's heroic death, not of the Kyuubi's attack.

"I see." He paused, glancing over the two children once more. So young and already causing an uproar. Inheritors of the legacies of two great shinobi… one of the twins a container of the strongest bijuu in the world… "Like I said, you'll understand when you're older."

"B-b- _That's not an explanation, dattebayo_!" Naruto yelled in outrage.

"It's all you're going to get." He silenced the blond's next protest with a glare. "Be patient. You want to be a shinobi, right, Naruto?"

The boy's expression immediately brightened. "Yeah! I'm gonna be a ninja, just like Inu-san, dattebayo!" The kid was like a sunflower – turning this way and that, changing moods in a flip of a coin, but always turning back to the sun the moment he was able.

"Well here's your first lesson. A true shinobi knows how to be patient. Your prey will not appear to you if you run around noisily because of your inability to wait."

"So… the expl- eekksplinayshun… is my prey?" Naruto squinted slightly as he tried to understand.

Sarutobi took pity on him. "I suppose… yes, you could say that."

"Then I'll definitely wait! I'll become the best ninja ever, dattebayo!" Naruto grinned, smacking his chest for emphasis. Then his face fell. "But I hate waiting-ttebayo!" he cried out in distress.

"Well then," Sarutobi smiled. "Now's a better time to start than any, right?"

The boy grumbled and pouted. His sister sighed. "So dramatic…" she murmured.

The Hokage straightened, nodding at the both of them. "If that's all, it's far time for you two to head back to the orphanage." Both children groaned. He shoved away the warmth building in his old heart at the sound.

"Can I ride on Inu-san again?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Sarutobi thought about it. He felt like he'd already asked too much of Kakashi. The boy had lost so much… it was no wonder he had no desire to see his sensei's children. To be forced to interact with them like today… "I'm afraid not, Naruto. That'll be enough riding for now. You can wait for Minoru-san at the lobby."

"Aww…" The child sighed in disappointment.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." Minako bowed, before tugging on Naruto to do the same.

"Please, Minako. Sarutobi-san is fine." He smiled benignly at the polite child.

"Then…" A mischievous light entered her eyes. "Thank you very much… Sarutobi-jiji."

He winced. Ah, so it looks like the impish behavior was not restricted to just one twin. "Go on, get." He sighed tiredly and flapped his hands at the two to leave. They giggled, darting out the door to wreak havoc in someone else's life.

As the door swung shut, so did the grandfatherly expression on Sarutobi's face. He twined his fingers together, eyes lit with the spark that had led to him being granted his title as 'Professor'.

That intelligent, calculating light in Minako's eyes… and if Naruto's rambunctiousness was any indication…

He lit his pipe and brought it to his lips. _Will the children someday surpass the legends that were their parents?_

_I wonder._

* * *

A/N:

_shitshitshitwhywhywhydidIstartanotherstorywhywhywhy_

An explanation for the series: I wrote this several months ago and it's been sitting in my computer for ages. I've decided to publish this because I don't really want to waste my work, and I like the idea and wonder if others would do the same. Take note that I only have two chapters written down and updates will probably be slow as heck. I have no idea where this is going to go, but let's wing it, ne? We might get to go somewhere good.

If anyone is wondering about the strange summary, this story will be a set of stories alternating with each other. Basically I took my one OC, Uzumaki Minako, and wondered where in the Naruto timeline I would put her, and ended up with half a dozen raw ideas. Since they were all too good to pass up, I'll just put them all here together like SilverQueen's Reincarnation Roulette.

For my notes on this chapter: I've always wondered how a man as intelligent and esteemed as the Professor, Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, would sentence the child he was supposed to be taking care of to a life of rejection by announcing to the world, oh hey, here's a baby that contains the monster that just killed all your loved ones. My theories for the original Naruto's situation shall remain buried, but for this situation, I figured with Minako's facial features and Naruto's resemblance to his father there was no way they could stay secret for long. If you're wondering how they managed to escape their guardians at the tender age of four… well, it _is _Naruto we're talking about here. Plus Minako. Who's an adult. Mentally. Those poor guardians didn't stand a chance.

One last note: I researched all the possible Japanese suffixes that put emphasis on the sentence that comes before it (ex. -yo, -ne, though -ne has a different connotation). -na is the one I found most acceptable, which indicates a "casual emphasis on a decision, suggestion, or opinion". Men can also use it as a very emphatic "Don't do this!". (thank you, japanese about dot com). Hence, we get Minako's customized _dattebana._


	2. Growing Up

This story was previously known as "Infinite Possibilities". Reasons for title change are stated below.

* * *

**I open my eyes.**

_The sky is a bright blue, the color of stress, of hope and happiness, and the nearness of summer. People are yelling, I think, but I can't be sure. A part of me whispers that I should feel pain, that I do feel pain, but I feel nothing, not a thing, not anymore._

_Someone bends over me… it's _you_. Dark eyes on a pale face. I can finally read them, the concern, the care… the fear._

_I'm sorry_, _I try to say. Please don't look like that. I'm sorry I made you sad. I'm sorry for making my parents sad… and my friends…_

_Please… don't be sad…_

**I open my eyes.**

_It's cold._

_Someone is weeping, soft, harsh sobs. I hear a baby, echoing, with its own wails nearby. It's cold, frightfully cold, as if I had just gotten out of a hot shower into the cooler air of the bathroom._

_Fear spikes, deep in my heart. Where am I? How did I get here? I shift and squirm, trying to move, but something had changed – my body would not do as I willed._

_Warm arms envelope me. I feel small, swallowed up in them, as I'm lifted like a babe. I open my mouth to scream, and it comes out in a high, screeching wail, in a voice I did not recognize as my own._

_What's happening to me?_

_A curtain of red surrounds me. The sobbing intensifies, and I realize it's a woman. She's whispering something, a mantra, a prayer, in my ear. My cries slowly cease. Beside me I feel another presence, something intrinsically so familiar he felt like déjà vu – yes, _he._ But try as I might, I could not remember meeting him before._

_The arms around me pull me closer. The woman presses a kiss against my forehead, crying, crying. I could feel her warmth, comforting me in her embrace, the curtain of red falling like rain over my bare, sensitive skin._

_The red of love._

**Open your eyes.**

_The moon is full. Pressure weighs down on me like iron. A fear so deep, deeper than instinct seeps into my bones. A shriek pulls itself out of my lips, uncontrollable, echoed by the one-who-is-familiar-but-isn't. The grip holding us both tightens. I look up, and see the moon, the full moon and its light on the person holding me up, throwing a halo of gold around his head._

_The fear is almost solid, sticky as honey but as cold and viscous as mud. The peace I'd just so recently found was gone, torn away in an instant. Red blazes like an inferno, stark against the night sky._

_The red of hatred. The red of fear._

_What is going on? I wail._

**Dammit, _open your eyes!_**

_Voices. An alto and a tenor. Rising and falling in a harmony of fear and anger and determination. I wail, and wail, and he-who-was-familiar-but-wasn't wails with me. I reach over, and find him nearby. I grab his hand, desperate for comfort in a world that was fear and voices and unknown, everything unknown._

_And then they tear me away from him._

_I scream, and scream, unable to stop, unable to restrain the fear, pouring off of me in waves. I was alone, on something made of cloth, yet gave no warmth, only dread and cold and fear, fear, fear._

_Something hot drips on to my skin. Words and voices._

_It sounds like goodbye._

_Please! Please…_

**_DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!_**

"Min'ko-chan!"

I shot up with a gasp, almost throwing Naruto off our bed. He yelped, falling backwards into the mattress. My eyes flickered in panic – left, right, white sheets and cold metal, sunlight through the windows and scratched wooden walls.

No moon. No fear but my own. No voices I didn't know.

"'_Tetetetete_… THAT HURT!" Naruto wailed, clutching his head where it had met the wall.

"S-sorry… Naruto." No matter how many years I'd been with him, it was always a wonder to wake up every morning and say that name.

Naruto. My brother. A boy that wasn't supposed to be real, in a world that wasn't supposed to exist.

And me. The one who was never meant to exist here in the first place.

"…y. Oy! Min'ko-chan, you're spacing off again!" said brother grumbled, waving a hand in front of my face. I blinked, then swatted it away.

"I'm thinking of a way to take revenge against you for ruining my beauty sleep." I grinned wickedly at him. "And for the last time, it's _Mi. Na. Ko!" _He barked out a laugh at that, half in fear and half in glee. Then he sobered.

"That nightmare again?" he asked, his voice soft and sad. My expression slowly wilted. That kind of look did not belong on his face. Naruto, dear, bubbly, beautiful Naruto, did not deserve to have expressions like that on his face.

"Yeah." I smiled and ruffled his hair. "Don't worry about it. I'll be fine with a little food in me. What time is it anyway?" I looked around. The tiny window above our little closet-room showed a fairly blue sky, which meant nothing in sunny Konohagakure.

"Somewhere around nine," he replied, rolling out of the futon. "Everyone's probably eating breakfast already."

I wriggled out of the blankets, raising an eyebrow until he blushed and moved to help me roll it up. I had quickly learned that raising a kid meant constant vigilance (hahaha, quoting Harry Potter while living in a closet), micromanaging every move you and the child make to make sure he doesn't pick up any bad habits, from you or anyone else.

Raising a kid at twenty… _as a kid…_

Dear God Almighty, kami or shinigami, whatnot… what did I do in my previous life to deserve this?

"_Why _do you keep spacing off?" Naruto whined, tugging on my arm. "You always do that! Come on, I'm hungry!"

"Alright, alright…" I let my smile bloom on my face, this one clearly displaying my love and fondness for him. It had the immediate effect of turning him beet red, from his neck up to his tiny ears. He snorted and looked away.

God, was baby Naruto _so cute! _Can you believe we're actually _related_?

Oh man, if I grow up with even a quarter of the looks his – _our! –_ parents had, I would die happy.

Then I remembered exactly what kind of world I was in, and quickly took that back.

"C'mon." I pulled him along, hand in hand like… well, like little kids. It took a little tiptoeing to reach the doorknob before we could exit our tiny closet-room. By closet-room I mean closet-turned-room, literally. To keep the other children "safe from the demon brats", the orphanage staff had converted a utility closet into a tiny room filled with shelves and a crib, and later on a futon to share when a bed wouldn't fit.

Our bare feet padded on the wooden floor of the large, traditional Japanese style house. The one good thing about our room was that we didn't have to share a room with at least eighteen other kids. It's enough of a hellhole in the evenings, and I wasn't even in the _room_ when they made noise_._

The hall was unnaturally empty as we headed towards the cafeteria. The orphanage was fairly small, and it usually felt even smaller with a population of about thirty kids from ages 1 to civilian 18. At least the cafeteria was easy enough to find; all we had to do was follow the cries of hungry children and the smell of a good stew brewing.

"C'mon! C'mon, I'm hungry!" Now it was Naruto pulling me along. I laughed, and sped up, with our little feet thud-thudding all the way up to the door.

Only to jump back as a horde of children roared out of it. Laughing, cheering, they bolted out the door, ready to play in the sun or turn an assigned chore into a competition. It was like a monster had been let loose to wreak havoc on the earth.

…well, considering we're talking about children here…

Scratch that. Considering we're talking about _ninja children _here, there is no doubt about the "monster(s) let loose to wreak havoc on the earth" part.

Orphanages in Konoha were funded by the government. However, with that funding came an agreement – all the children housed in the orphanage, upon reaching the beautiful, tender age of six and _still _not being adopted (boohoo), were sent to the Ninja Academy. If they passed, they became ninja.

Few managed to be selected for personal jounin senseis and their own genin teams. Even fewer managed to get a solo apprenticeship with a jounin. (The most legendary example of this rarity being dearest Yondaddy himself. And Kakashi, come to think of it, though I didn't find that out until later.) Those that were completely hopeless were sent back to the orphanage in shame, to finish their schooling in civilian school and become the shopkeepers and other unnoticed but equally important members of society.

…Which meant that, while the village now had a steady supply of cannon fodder and the occasional prodigy, it was also constantly breeding civilians that held a bitterness towards what they could have been, but weren't. The "ninjas are cool" and "to be a ninja is the utmost honor to have in the village" brainwashing didn't help any. Add that to the number of civilians that were creeped out by ninja in general, Konoha wasn't really building up a happy place here, huh?

Maybe, only a small portion of the village was actually made of orphans, and those were usually the children of ninjas killed while doing their jobs, meaning a higher success rate of becoming a ninja, so it probably didn't matter much in the face of ambiguous statistics?

Sometimes I thought thinking up crazy things like this was the only way my mind could cope with having the body of a three year old but the mentality of someone at twenty.

Naruto's yelp yanked me right out of my musing and back to the present. "_WHAT?!" _I winced and tried to clamp my hands over my ears, forgetting I was holding Naruto's hand. I nearly socked myself in the face. "Whaddaya _mean_ the cafeteria's_ closed_?"

_At this rate I am never going to marry and have kids. Having to live with the shrieks of a pouting child once is enough for a lifetime, thank you very much._

"What I mean is… _IT'S CLOSED!" _We jumped in unison as a tan, wrinkly face shoved itself into our personal space. "You and your sister are late, therefore you miss breakfast!"

"But you _said _breakfast ended at 9:30!" Naruto whined. "You told me! That's why I went to wake up Min'ko-chan first!"

"I said 9:00, _brat._" The orphanage head's nostrils flared wide with her fury. "_Everyone _knows the cafeteria closes at nine! It even says so, right here!" She slammed her hand against the wall.

_BAM! _We jumped at the sound. Again.

Sure enough, a small sign was plastered next to the cafeteria. She pointed at it, with a face that screamed contempt at the two of us. At my brother.

I could feel Naruto's hand shaking in mine. Without looking, I knew that his face was beginning to scrunch up and that his blue eyes were beginning to fill. I could hear the faint sniffles beginning to form and smell the faintest tang of saltwater on the air.

My eyes narrowed.

"Miyagawa-san." The woman visibly recoiled, before gathering her wits and pulling herself together. Her stern façade, however, wasn't as convincing this time. "Please forgive my brother for getting the time wrong." I felt Naruto jerk to protest and clamped my hand down on his. "It's not his fault though. We don't know how to read yet, so we couldn't exactly check the sign." Once again, I cursed my limited vocabulary in this world's language. That would have sounded more impressive if I'd used fancy words and formal language.

_Please forgive my brother for mistaking the time of the termination of morning meals. However, it is not due to any fault of his, as neither of us is yet able to read, therefore he had no way of checking the time in the event of a misunderstanding or loss of memory._

It sounded ridiculous and maybe even pompous, and could even be made more highfalutin with a little work and editing, but hell, even just thinking it made me feel a whole lot better.

Miyagawa-san seemed to get her wind back at that. "Are you calling me a liar?" What she did after that statement could be compared to that of a threatened rooster: she inhaled, her wide nostrils widening even further, puffing herself up to seemingly twice her size. Her eyes narrowed until they were but dark lines on her reddened face. A mole on her cheek stood out horrendously against the color.

"No, ma'am." I let my eyes open up, the picture of puzzled childlike innocence. My voice was just the right shade of confused and clueless. "I was just saying."

Naruto was practically trembling with impatience and righteous fury. I kept my grip on his hand tight, a small action imploring him to keep quiet just a little bit longer. Miyagawa-san glared at us a little longer, but, unable to find a hole to attack me with, had to relent.

"Fine! Now get out of my sight before I ban you two from lunch too!" she roared.

She would. And she has, too, so Naruto and I wasted no time in turning tail and fleeing the vicinity.

The moment we were out of view and hearing, Naruto stomped his foot and began to yell. "I _didn't _get it wrong, I _didn't_, I _didn't_! She said 9:30, and when I looked the short stick wasn't even at 9 yet and the long stick was after 10 so I didn't get it wrong, I didn't I didn't I didn-"

"Naruto!" I placed my hands on his cheeks and forced him to look at me. He wasn't even starting to make sense anymore, not even in convoluted toddler-speech, which meant he was _really_ upset. "Naruto, _look at me._" He stopped glaring at the side and actually looked, red-faced and his blue eyes swimming in barely held back tears. "I believe you, Naruto."

His frown eased a little. "You do?" he asked, the scrunched up eyes opening somewhat.

"Yeah, I do." I smiled at him, trying to convince him that I did, and do, that he was _my _Naruto and I knew he wasn't as stupid as people put him out to be. I didn't have proof yet, other than a few spotty lessons on learning how to tell time, and a few other things, but I _knew._

Or I could be biased. But this is what having faith is like, right?

"But… but why would Miyagawa-san say something like that?" His eyes were starting to swim again. I gently brushed the few tears that escaped with my tiny hands, wondering if I should tell him the truth or struggle to keep his innocence whole a little longer.

"I… don't know, Naruto." I finally, honestly, said. "Sometimes people are mean for no reason I can tell. Maybe Miyagawa-san is hurting inside, so she hurts others. Maybe she's lonely and feels better that others are hurting with her. Or maybe she feels better because she feels stronger when she hurts others."

"But why?" Naruto insisted, his tears bubbling over into streams. "It's not fair! I didn't do anything to her!"

I opened my mouth… then closed it. It's true. It wasn't fair. And what's worse is that I knew she wasn't doing it to any of the other children either.

Was it jealousy of the children who received one visit too many from the Sandaime? Or was it…

My hand strayed towards my temple, barely brushing the black line I knew stretched from around my eyes to there. Days of tracing it in front of the mirror let me memorize the smooth tattoo, from where it started at the corners of my eyes, over and under my lashes, to the tiny ends that reached for my hair, like a fierce eyeliner design for a Hollywood party.

_Demonspawn,_ they'd called us. Called _me_.

"Minako?" he asked softly.

I shook my head clear and tried to smile. "Life isn't very fair at times. Especially people." I paused, but easily forestalled another "why?" when I saw it coming. "It's hard to explain," I said ruefully, stating the words I used when either my limited vocabulary could not keep up with what I was trying to teach Naruto (my brother!), or it really _was _hard to explain. This situation right now was both.

Naruto looked ready to push it, but relented with a sigh.

"C'mon." I wiped the last few tears off his cheeks with my hands once more, before wiping them off on my fourth-hand (possibly more) duster. Then I took his hand and tugged him back into motion. "Let's get you cleaned up."

My smile brightened as he gave a wobbly one back.

We walked to the bathing area. I had tried to drill the importance of bathing into Naruto, but it was hard to do when we only had a pair of clothes each. For now I was ready to settle for washing his face.

"Come on, Kaoru, you can't not take a bath. Move along…" A gentle voice reached my keen hearing long before we saw the owner. Turning a corner, we found a brown-haired woman kneeling in front of a pouting child.

"I _dun wanna!"_

Minoru-san was Miyagawa-san's older sister. A soft, sweet woman, it was a wonder those two were even related. If there was ever a more impossible set of siblings, they would be it. While Miyagawa-san grumped and roared and glared, Minoru-san was always ready with a smile and a lap for all your misery. This was one of the reasons why most children called her by her first name, while Miyagawa-san by her last.

"I know! How about you take a bath now and-" A stifled gasp. I stiffened, coming to a sudden stop that sent Naruto bouncing off my back and nearly toppling both of us over. Hazel eyes were wide with terror, her skin as pale as an egg.

"Minoru-san?" Kaoru, a new kid, glanced between me and the frozen woman. "Minoru-san, what's wrong?" He reached up and tugged on her sleeve.

"N-n-nothing. Say, Kaoru, why don't we go for a snack first and then come back later?" Minoru-san snatched up the little boy in her arms. Shooting one last terrified glimpse at me, she fled, socked feet thump-thumping on the wooden floor.

"…Min'ko?" Naruto gave my sleeve his own, gentle tug. I didn't have to look to see his round, puzzled blue eyes.

"Come on, Naruto." My voice sounded distant to my ears. "Let's get your face washed."

"Min'ko… why'd Minoru-san look so scared?" he asked, following obediently. "She looked scardier than when I showed her that bug I caught before."

"More scared," I corrected him absently, dragging him to a sink and grabbing a stool to stand on. "Now scrub your face like I taught you."

"More scarblrbulbrrr," he repeated, the words disappearing under running water. "But," he added, pulling out from under the tap, "You didn't answer my question!"

"I can't explain right now, Naruto," I said, fighting back my impatience that I knew wasn't truly directed at him.

"But why noooot?" he whined, stepping down from the stool.

"I just can't, okay!" I snapped.

He recoiled, making me wince and hold my face in my hands.

I took a deep shuddering breath. "I'm sorry, I… I don't know, okay, Naruto? I just can't."

How could I, when I was not supposed to know about the Kyuubi in the first place?

* * *

A/N:

I'm going to be completely honest here in that I'm just writing this out as I go. There are events I can imagine and want to happen, but I have no idea how to link them together into an overarching plot. This is one of the reasons why updates are pretty slow too. I can imagine how Minako would react to certain events, like the Chuunin Exams for example, and there are characters I want her to meet but struggle to make it realistic, but that's pretty much more or less the limit of my capabilities for this fic. If anyone would like to discuss plot with me, and essentially be my beta for this fic, I would be happy to talk to you and negotiate or whatever it is people do when they talk beta-ing. (I am obviously too socially retarded to find my own beta. Believe me, I tried. Nobody PMed me back. I have no idea how to do this interacting shit. T~T)

NaruSasuSupporter: I apologize, I know the whole setup was a bit crappy. My original plan was for this fic to be a sort of mix of drabbles based on several different AUs I could imagine Minako to be in. I think I'll just split it into different stories though, if ever, because I have enough trouble writing this one and I don't seem to have any drive to write the others yet (not out of lack of ideas but lack of motivation... I guess? And time of course). I hope the new title and summary are good enough…? ;w;

Ox King: Oh dear. Now I'm a bit scared to fall short XD;

...damn my chapter titles are _awful_


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